


Like a Rainbow

by DottoraQN



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: 50s au, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Greasers, He/Him Pronouns for Mollymauk Tealeaf, Mighty Nein as Family, Other, Trent Ikithon Being an Asshole, Warning: Trent Ikithon, keeping up appearances - Freeform, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26071546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DottoraQN/pseuds/DottoraQN
Summary: Caleb and Beauregard Widogast lead a charmed life. Caleb was a professor at the university while Beauregard worked at the library at the school. They made enough money to get by and put a little into savings and often invited the entire neighborhood over for joint barbecues with the couple that shared the duplex with them, Mollymauk and Jester Tealeaf. Little does their community know that both couples have a secret.This is the “a gay couple and a lesbian couple live next to each other in duplex with a hidden door and swap partners to keep up appearances in the 50s” AU. I saw a video on tiktok and got VERY inspired.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 18
Kudos: 167





	1. You with the Stars in Your Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the title of this chapter from the song Hey There from the musical, the Pajama Game. I was in the show as a young'n and I watched the movie for inspiration!

“Caleb, Beau, Jester! I’m finally here!”  
  
Caleb turned to look at the fence gate of his duplex and the purple tiefling that was walking through it. Mollymauk wore a simple white V-neck T-shirt with cuffed sleeves, tucked into a pair of dyed burgundy jeans and he was absolutely _covered_ in grease. The amount of filth that was caked over the man didn’t seem to deter his spirits as he waltzed into the backyard of the duplex that he shared with his wife and two best friends. Caleb chuckled to himself. “Wife” and “best friend” were what they needed to appear as.  
  
“Anyone here yet?” Molly’s voice cut through his reverie.  
  
“Ah, no, Schatz, it is just us for now,” Caleb responded. “Dr. Ikithon and his colleagues will arrive in a half an hour.”  
  
“Perfect!” Molly said, clapping his hands. “Gives me just enough time for a shower and to kiss you before they get here. Unless you want me to kiss you now...”  
  
Caleb chuckled, looking down at his slacks, tie, and white dress shirt, “Ja, I would like that, but I do not want grease all over me. So I will wait.”  
  
Molly chuckled, spinning around Caleb to run up the steps into the Widogast side of the house, almost running into Beau on her way out. She dodged expertly, her dark blue, modestly cut dress swirling around her as she lifted the plate that she was carrying, shouting, “God! Molly! Fucking be careful!”  
  
“Just be happy _you_ aren’t covered in grease, Beau! I missed you so much while I was at work that I could just give you the biggest hug,” Molly’s voice drifted out from the house.  
  
“Also -- hey! Wrong side of the house, asshole!” Beau shouted back. When there was no response to be heard, Beau sighed and walked over to the picnic table next to the grill where Jester sat sketching and put down the dish that she carried. She placed a kiss on top of the other woman’s head before sitting down next to hear and tucking her chin over Jester’s shoulder to look at her drawing. The visage of a stern, balding man with age spots stared back at her. The drawing was very technically good, but for the words “Icky-Thong” emblazoned across the top in magic marker and the googly eyes pasted over where the man’s eyes should have been.  
  
“What do you think, Beau?” Jester asked, turning to kiss Beau on the temple.  
  
Beau laughed as Jester wiggled the page, making the eyes jump and move. “I like it, I think he looks a million times better than he does in real life. The googly eyes really give him that little bit of life and human decency that he’s lacking,” she said, making Jester laugh. Beau smiled, her face lighting up when Jester laughed.  
  
Caleb smiled at his two friends, before walking inside his side of the duplex to grab another tray of food. He bent down to look in the fridge for the deviled eggs that he had made the day previously, finding them quickly, along with the bottle of wine that he bought for these type of parties where his colleagues would come to visit. Walking back outside, he saw Jester, her yellow capri and crop top set accenting her blue skin nicely. She held the drawing of Ikithon up to her face, dropping her voice, making a mockery of the man’s accent.  
  
“Eef yoo doon’t tourn een yoor ree-serch, yoo weel regreet eet!” she said, wiggling the drawing in Beau’s face as she spoke. Beau tried to stifle her laughter, but failed, almost collapsing back onto the bench. Caleb set the tray down on the table and touched Jester on the shoulder gently, saying, “I think your representation is very accurate; however, the man in question will be here soon, so I recommend you put that somewhere he cannot see it.”  
  
Jester pouted, but consented, sticking the drawing deep within her sketchpad. She wandered over to the grill, poking at the column of smoke coming off of it, shaping it a little with her hands. Beau wiped tears from her eyes, looking wistfully over to Jester before wandering back into the Widogast side of the house, muttering something about wine glasses for “icky thong and his stuffy friends.”  
  
The side of Caleb’s mouth quirked up in spite of himself. He had no love for his boss and advisor, the man had been ruthless with his tutelage while Caleb was an undergraduate at the academy and he was the only Transmutation research advisor at the school. Caleb considered switching his PHD study to Dunamancy under Essek Thelyss, but that would have added multiple years onto his schooling. He was _so close_ to being finished with his research into racial transmutation, he felt like it was just out of his grasp. Perhaps Essek would help him with the more time sensitive aspects of the spell.  
  
Once again, Caleb was pulled from his rumination by a voice at the gate. The voice of Trent Ikithon drifted into the backyard of the duplex, “Ah, Herr Widogast, I apologize that we are early, but traffic was much lighter than we anticipated.”  
  
Caleb turned to face the voice, his eyebrow raising in surprise at the gaggle of people behind his advisor. There was a dark skinned elf, Doctor Essek Thelyss, a few steps behind Ikithon, and two people that Caleb didn’t recognize, an older elven man and a human woman around ten years younger than Ikithon. He shifted as he felt someone walk up beside him and looked over to Beau. Her eyes lit up as she laid eyes on the woman. He looked at her questioningly, raising an eyebrow. She leaned over and whispered, “Dr. Allura Vysoren. She comes into the library often and talks to me; doesn’t treat me like a piece of shit like Trent does. I thiiink the older elf is Dr. Yussa Errines. I ran into him once, literally, and he was at least not openly nasty to me.”  
  
Ikithon offered his hand to Caleb, the younger wizard accepting the handshake, before gesturing to his companions, “Herr Widogast, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Herr Dr. Yussa Errines, Herr Dr. Essek Thelyss, whom I believe you are familiar with, and _Fräuline Dr._ Allura Vysoren.”  
  
Caleb glanced at Beau, who’s eyes were already on him; neither of them missing the way that Ikithon said Doctor Vysoren’s title with a sneer in his voice. He turned back quickly, smiling at the other academics, saying nervously, “Herr Doktors. Frau Doktor. It is a p-pleasure to meet you all. Welcome to my home. This is my w-wife, Beauregard. Over by the p-picnic table is Jester Tealeaf, who l-lives on the other side of my duplex with h-her husband, M-mollymauk.”  
  
Jester waved when she heard her name, returning to setting the picnic table after a moment’s greeting. All of the sudden, Caleb heard quick footsteps and his name being shouted from inside the house. He whirled around, knowing that Molly would not have known that their guests had arrived while he was getting cleaned up from work at his auto shop. Jester spun at the same time, slight panic in her eyes, as she called out, “Molly! Make sure not to let Frumpkin out when you come outside.”  
  
Caleb felt Beau stifen at the use of the two couples’ safe-phrase. ‘Don’t let Frumpkin out of the bag’ had become what the four would say to each other when hiding the true nature of their relationships. When Caleb bought the duplex with the pretense of renting out the other side to his friends, what the realtor and everyone in town didn’t know was that Caleb and Beauregard Widogast and Mollymauk and Jester Tealeaf were simply keeping up appearances. During the day and at social functions, the two couples played the parts of doting wife and stern husband; roles that society expected them to fill. But at night, Beau and Molly would switch places, using a secret door hidden in the basement to join their real partners for the evening.  
  
The footsteps from inside the house suddenly stopped, Mollymauk undoubtedly pausing for a moment to center himself and prepare to put on the visage of ‘Husband to Jester Tealeaf,’ one half of the oddly artistic tiefling couple that had been the talk of the town when the moved in years ago. When the steps resumed, they were measured, the door to the back yard opening just enough to let Molly slip outside. He closed the door firmly before turning and facing their guests, his smile wide and friendly.  
  
  
“Hello, Doctors! It is so lovely to meet you all. Caleb and Beau have been planning this get together for weeks and it is so nice to finally put some faces to names,” he said, his voice much less boisterous than it was when he walked through the gate fifteen minutes previously.  
  
“Ah, Herr Tealeaf,” Ikithon responded, his haughty gaze raking over the tiefling. “Your wife, Geniveve, is in our library at the academy quite often. One of my students is quite fond of her.”  
  
Caleb looked over at Jester at the name drop. Her smile persisted, but it didn’t reach her eyes any longer. She walked over to join Caleb and Beau in greeting the academics, reaching out her hand in offering to Ikithon. She smiled sweetly, saying, “I prefer Jester, Mister-- oh, I’m so sorry, _Doctor_ Ikithon.”  
  
The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife until Allura stepped forward, exclaiming, “You have such a lovely yard, Mrs. Widogast! What do you do to keep the grass so green back here? I can’t imagine that it gets enough sun here in the city.”  
  
Everyone relaxed instantly, the uncomfortable silence defeated for now. Beau let out a short bark of a laugh, saying, “Oh, me? Dr. Vysoren, if I touched this yard it would be dead in a heartbeat. Jester and Molly take care of the back yard, mostly, with a little help from one of our friends who owns a gardening business. Oh, and please, call me Beau.”  
  
Alura smiled and winked at her, looking over to Jester and then back to Beau. “Only if you call me Allura.”  
  
The three women walked off to a corner of the back yard, Jester and Allura discussing plants and their various gestation times while Beau nodded along happily, trailing behind the other two like a puppy. Caleb followed them for a moment with his eyes before turning back to the three men at the gate and saying, “Gentlemen, please feel free to make yourselves welcome in my backyard. The facilities can be found inside the door on the right and just past the kitchen on the left, if you require them.”  
  
The three men nodded and spread out around the yard; Essek drifting over to look at the flowers that Jester was gesturing wildly about, while Yussa and Ikithon sat at the table to continue a discussion on the uses of illusion and transmutation in the arts. Caleb followed them, sitting on the other side of the table and just listening to their conversation. He started as Molly walked up beside him, dressed in almost exactly the same outfit as before, but devoid of grease. Molly sat down beside him, smiling at him before focusing his attention on what Yussa was saying, “Trent, after seeing _The Sound of Music_ I must insist that the show greatly benefited from the use of illusion to expand the immersion. Mere transmutation could not have effectively portrayed the panic as the Von Trapps fled from the amphitheater.”  
  
“I believe you, but I am saying that the character change in _Much Ado About Nothing_ would have been much more effective with _Shapechange_ , rather than _Disguise Self_.” Ikithon continued, “I’m sure that there are mages willing to- Oh, Mister Tealeaf, I apologize. I’m sure that this conversation is rather boring to someone of your... persuasion. What is it that you do again?”  
  
Molly smiled at Ikithon winningly, but Caleb could tell that he was grinding his teeth. He rolled his shoulders and leaned on the table with his elbow, the tension evaporating from him almost instantly. Caleb often wondered how the other man could do that, could lie with his body language with ease that way. It had taken Caleb himself years to even be able to say a falsehood out loud without blushing horribly. Molly glanced over to him before saying, “I own an auto body shop: _Tealeaf’s Trucks and Taxis_. We service all vehicles, but I couldn’t think of a better name at the time and Jester insisted on making it alliterative.”  
  
Yussa laughed along with Molly and Caleb began to relax a little bit. Maybe his colleagues being around his family wouldn’t be as stressful as he thought it would be. Ikithon looked amused for a moment, but continued to look at Molly in a way that made Caleb feel like his advisor was looking _through_ the other man. The side of Ikithon’s mouth quirked up and he opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a southern drawl coming from around the corner of the house: “Hey, Caleb! Sorry we’re a little late, ‘Tika couldn’t pick out a pair of shoes.”  
  
An indigent french accented voice replied, “You know that is not true, I believe it was you who could not decide on which shoes to wear, no?”  
  
Caleb looked up to see Fjord, Molly’s old roommate, rounding the corner with his on-again off-again girlfriend, Avantika. _Apparently they’re together right now,_ Caleb thought. Fjord worked with Molly at the auto shop, while Avantika was Ikithon’s secretary.  
  
“Hey there, Molls! Caleb, how you been?” Fjord asked.  
  
“Fjord, I am _gut_ , it is good to see you,” Caleb said, standing to walk over. From his new position closer to the gate, he could see it wiggling furiously, a tall aasimar woman with dark hair and a taller firbolg looking down at the ground affectionately. The gate slammed open and Caleb’s research partner, Veth, burst through, whacking Fjord in the side of the leg with the gate as she did. He cursed at her before looking up and sheepishly apologizing, Yasha and Caduceus walking through the gate after to Veth to stand next to the rest of their friends.  
  
Now that all of his friends had joined them in the backyard, Caleb felt much more at ease. There were many more colorful characters for Ikithon to focus on and his eyes were not solely on Caleb or any of his family members. After the appropriate introductions were made, the attendees of the cookout mingled amicably, Caduceus joining Jester and Allura in their talk of plants, Veth and Yasha speaking with Trent and Yussa about something inane, and Essek joining Fjord and Molly in talking about the merits of Chevrolet vs. Ford vehicles.  
  
Caleb made eye contact with Beau, silently calling her over. She approached, a questioning look in her eye. He cleared his throat loudly, saying, “Beauregard, _Schatz_ , will you please go get the steaks from inside? I think it is about time that we ate.”  
  
“Of course, _dear_ ,” she said, almost spitting the pet name out from between gritted teeth. Pretending to be married to Beau was trying some times, but with enough coaxing she had finally agreed to use pet names in front of Caleb’s colleagues despite how much she hated them. She elbowed him in the ribs as she walked past and Caleb winced, her jab having more power behind it than he thought it would have.  
  
The rest of the party went smoothly, Ikithon not making any more subtle insults at Jester or Molly and everyone seeming to get along swimmingly. Caleb almost burnt the steaks, watching Molly and Essek speak across the yard, but Caduceus appeared at his side almost magically to let him know it was time to take them off the heat. The meal was delicious, the conversation was satisfying, and after their guests had left, Caleb almost felt himself nodding off at the sink where he washed dishes. He started when a hand touched his shoulder.  
  
“Shh, darling, it’s only me,” Mollymauk said, snaking his arms around Caleb’s waist. Caleb hummed and leaned into Molly’s touch, dropping the plate that he was washing back into the sink.  
  
“I am sorry that Ikithon was rude to you, Schatz,” Caleb said, turning in Molly’s arms to face him. He craned his neck a bit to brush his lips against Molly’s forehead, the tiefling trying to squirm away, prohibited by his unwillingness to let go of Caleb and Caleb’s hands fisted in his T-shirt.  
  
After a moment of laughter, Molly said, “Oh, I don’t care, I’m not the one that has to work with him. But, I will say that if he ever comes to the shop I’m syphoning gas out of his car for that remark.”  
  
Caleb chucked, bringing his arms up from Molly’s chest to his neck, running his fingers through the short hair at the back of Molly’s neck. Molly sighed and leaned into the touch, his eyes fluttering shut at the gentle contact. He thought for a moment before saying, “As my colleagues arrived rather early, there was no chance for that kiss you promised.”  
  
“Oh?” Molly asked, “I don’t remember promising anything, but since you made such a nice dinner _I guess_ I could give you a kiss.”  
  
Gripping the back of Molly’s neck just a touch more firmly, Caleb brought their foreheads together, his voice lowering as he said, “You didn’t, but I think you might enjoy what I have in mind.”  
  
Molly closed the distance between their lips in a searing kiss, his blunted talons scratching fruitlessly against Caleb’s shirt. Caleb ran his tongue across Molly’s lower lip and the tiefling opened readily, allowing Caleb to explore his mouth with ease. Their tongues twined together, Molly moaning loudly, and Caleb decided to use the moment to his advantage, quickly shifting his weight forward and twisting, reversing the positions of the two men to pin Molly against the counter. Molly’s hands wandered lower as they kissed, slowly exploring the small of Caleb’s back and working his shirt free of where it was tucked into his slacks.  
  
Caleb broke free of Molly’s mouth, breathing heavily, but quickly refocused himself on the teifling’s neck where the skin was adorned with a litany of colorful tattoos. Molly whined as Caleb sucked lightly at his pulse point, Molly’s hands now worrying at the buttons at the front of Caleb’s shirt. Caleb shifted his hands to grab at Molly’s ass, massaging his flesh tenderly as he lavished attention on his neck, being careful not to leave any marks.  
  
“Hey, guys, have you seen my-- EW! You two have a room!” Beau’s voice said from behind them. Caleb let go of Molly to turn to face her sheepishly. Beau looked much more comfortable than at the party, exchanging her blue dress for a T-shirt and a pair of men’s slacks with suspenders.  
  
Molly piped up from behind Caleb, “What, you’re telling me that the first thing you did after that spotted dick left wasn’t eat Jester out to spite his homophobic ass?”  
  
“Shut up, dick, I realized I left my sandals on this side of the house and I wanted to be courteous,” Beau shot back while wandering around to look for her shoes.  
  
“Or,” Molly continued, ignoring Beau’s insult, “Is she tied to your bed right now, and you needed an excuse to leave your side of the house for the power play. Beau, that’s so ruuuuude! Go please your woman!”  
  
“No, what’s rude is me having to walk into one of the _public spaces_ of our home and see you about to get bent over the _kitchen counter that we all use!_ ” Beau quipped, finding her sandals and picking them up.  
  
“Oooh, now there’s an idea,” Molly turned and said to Caleb while his eyes stayed focused on Beau. “Caleb. _Darling_. Would you do me the honors of fucking me over this kitchen counter at the suggestion of our very own Beauregard?”  
  
“Ugh, you are awful, I’m going to sleep, goodnight,” Beau said, wrenching open the basement door and stomping off towards her side of the house.  
  
“Don’t make her scream too loud, darling!” Molly called after her. He turned back to look at Caleb, grinning. Caleb ran his hand over his face, amused and exasperated at Mollymauk and Beau’s sibling-like squabbles.  
  
“Do you have to antagonize her, Schatz?” He asked. Molly’s grin widened.  
  
“Of course I do. Also, she started it this time,” Molly said, “But, she had a point, you should definitely take me to bed.”  
  
Caleb fought to keep back his smile, but ultimately lost. He nodded and reached over to pull the stopper on the sink, not wanting the water to sit overnight. The dishes could wait until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Sorry about the widomauk fade to black, I'm trying out this weird thing where I actually write a story instead of just a vague excuse to write horribly filthy smut. Comments and Kudos feed me and I grow stronger with each one.


	2. If I Didn't Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I first heard this song while playing Bioshock and it's haunting melody has stuck with me for years! I hope that you enjoy this next chapter!
> 
> Slight warning, the first half of this chapter is from Trent's pov instead of Caleb's. As in canon, he's a pretty terrible person, so just be wary of homophobia and sexism in this chapter.

Trent Ikithon was a patient man, when he needed to be. It wasn’t to say that he didn’t like Caleb Widogast, it was just that he saw so much potential in the man, but his attachments were holding him back. Power wasn’t found in friends and connections past the initial meeting. Other people existed for Trent to use as stepping stones to his own lofty ambitions.  
  
These were the thoughts that ran through Trent’s head as he rounded the corner on his way to his office. He stuck the key in the lock and turned it, moving to push open the door, but hesitating when he heard an angry voice drift around the corner from which he just came.  
  
“Caleb, I am telling you, it’s not ok,” Beauregard Widogast’s voice said.  
  
“Beauregard, why are we having an argument about me putting pickle juice in the deviled egg filling?” Caleb’s voice replied. Trent was glad he wasn’t married.  
  
“This is past just f-, ugh, pickle juice in the deviled eggs. It’s about you not listening to me,” Beauregard said.  
  
“ _Schatz_ , I do listen to you,” Caleb said, his voice growing quieter.  
  
“And another thing! You fucking know I hate pet names. I’m not your god damned treasure, Caleb Widogast, I am a person, and I had to fight tooth and nail with my dad to get him to realize that. I thought you could at least see me as an equal,” Beauregard said, her voice nearing breaking.  
  
Trent grinned to himself. _The perfect opportunity._ He quickly tossed his briefcase onto Avantika’s desk for her to deal with later before spinning around the corner, his lab coat swirling in a rush of air.  
  
“ _Herr_ Widogast,” Trent said, walking quickly up to where Caleb and Beauregard stood, Beauregard with her finger in Caleb’s face and Caleb backed all the way up against his office door. “I recommend that you have your marital disputes outside of the work environment.”  
  
“Ah, _ja_ , my apologies, Doctor Ikithon,” Caleb said, his eyes going straight to the ground rather than to either of the participants in the conversation.  
  
“Now, now, none of that,” Trent practically cooed, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of pushing Caleb. “Look your wife in the eyes when you tighten her leash and put her in her place.”  
  
Beauregard looked at him and opened her mouth, partially in shock and partially in order to give him a piece of her mind, but she was stopped by Caleb’s hand on her shoulder. Trent’s eyes moved from Beauregard to Caleb, immediately being met by an intensity burning in Caleb’s irises. His hand not on his wife’s shoulder closed to a fist and shook with something. Rage? Trent certainly hoped so.  
  
“ _Doctor Ikithon. If you are finished insulting my wife, I believe that we both have papers to grade and students to prepare for,_ ” Caleb said in German. _Good_. Caleb’s shoulders rolled back, his chin sticking out in defiance. _Excellent. Now we’re getting somewhere._  
  
“ _Ja_ , just a friendly piece of advice, _Herr_ Widogast,” Trent said. He was barely taller than the other man, but the mere two inches in height difference gave Trent just enough leverage to look down at Caleb haughtily. He smiled, matching and meeting Caleb’s stare for just a moment before sweeping away back to his office. _Perfect_.  
  
A few hours later, Trent picked up his phone to call Ludinus about funding for the evocation fast track that they were planning to implement at some of the nearby high schools. The operator’s clipped and professional tone confirmed the number with him before he heard the telltale click, but not the connection ring. Confused, Trent pulled the receiver back from his ear to look at the phone before he heard a distinctly German accent come out of the receiver.  
  
“No, _nein_ , Mollymauk, I do not know when I will be home tonight. I have several classes to teach and papers to grade,” Caleb Widogast’s disembodied voice said. Trent held his breath, listening intently, hoping that the other side of the conversation could be heard through the incorrect connection. _Today must be my lucky day._  
  
“Well, darling, I hope that you aren’t home too late. Jester said that she’s going to make Baked Alaska, and we all know how much fun you two had with that last time,” the distinct brogue drifted back.  
  
Caleb chuckled, “ _Ja_ , I do remember, _liebling_. I could use a bit of a laugh today.”  
  
“Tough day at work, love?”  
  
“ _Ja_. After my first class I went to ask Beauregard a question, which turned into an argument, which Ikithon overheard,” Caleb said. _This was getting better and better._  
  
“Oh, gross, what did icky-thong have to say about it?” Mollymauk asked.  
  
“He told me to keep a leash on my wife,” Caleb mumbled. “I do not-- _Schisse_ \-- I wish that I had not argued with Beau. I may not care for her in the way I care for you, _Schatz_ , but I still care for her. She is one of my oldest friends, and she should not be called a dog by that _arschloch_ of an excuse for a man simply for having an opinion and stating it.”  
  
Mollymauk sighed, “Yeah. I’m sorry that you have to put up with him. Shop’s closed today, so I’ll be waiting for you when you get home, ok, love?”  
  
“ _Ja_ ,” Caleb said, pausing a moment before continuing. “ _Danke_ , Mollymauk. _Ich liebe dich._ ”  
  
“I love you too, baby,” Mollymauk responded. Trent heard a click and the line went dead. He slowly replaced the receiver on its cradle, a wicked grin spreading across his face.  
  
“Well. There is my opportunity.”  
  
****  
  
Caleb gripped the steering wheel of his car with white knuckles, waiting for Beauregard to come out of the library building. He didn’t have to wait long; she spotted him quickly, walking over to the car, expertly dodging students along the way. As soon as her door closed, Caleb blurted out, “I-- I am sorry, Beauregard, for provoking you earlier. It was not my intention, but it happened, and I apologize. No more pet names.”  
  
“Ah, man, it’s fine, like, we both know that icky’s gonna say whatever he wants anyway, I didn’t take it to heart,” she responded.  
  
“ _Nein_ , I know you did not, but it is not fine, I upset you,” Caleb said.  
  
Beau looked over at him for a moment before nodding, “Thank you.”  
  
The rest of the drive home the pair talked amicably about their days, Beau telling a story about how she busted two freshmen kissing in the back of the library in the reference section. By the end of the story and Beau’s descriptions of the two students’ expressions, Caleb was worried that he might have to pull over because he was laughing so hard. He pulled the old Ford into their driveway, making sure to be careful of the bright purple truck parked haphazardly on the patch of gravel.  
  
Two weeks later, Jester suggested that they invite their friends over to have cocktails. Surprisingly to Caleb, she had also suggested that he invite the academics from the barbecue. When he questioned her reasoning, she had said that she knew how important connections were in the academic field, and she wanted him to be able to succeed. Caleb was touched, making sure to pick up the ingredients for the Ambrosia that Jester loved on his next trip to the grocery.  
  
Two weeks after that, all of the invitations had been sent out and accepted and Caleb stood in the kitchen on his side of the duplex trying and failing to make Caduceus’ stuffed mushroom recipe. He was up to his elbows in filling when he heard the doorbell ring.  
  
“Beauregard? Someone? Can you please get the door?” he called out, washing his hands before moving the ugly tray of mushrooms to the oven. He poked his head through the door to the kitchen before grabbing the eggs from the fridge to make deviled eggs. _No pickle juice this time._ At the door were Fjord and Avantika being greeted happily by Jester. Beau and Molly were nowhere to be seen. Caleb shook his head before going back to the eggs and listening to the conversation.  
  
“Fjord! How are you? It is so good to see you... both!” Jester’s cheery voice rang through the house, but Caleb caught her falter on greeting Avantika. The two women had butted heads in the past, but Jester was mostly civil now.  
  
“Jessie, always a pleasure,” Fjord’s voice drawled.  
  
“Well come in!” Jester said. The door closed and Caleb assumed their guests were putting their shoes and coats up in the closet. It had gotten much colder in the last few weeks, finally signalling the arrival of fall. Jester had already been to shops all over town looking for halloween decorations, but none had been put out yet.  
  
Conversation between the three progressed amicably, breaking when Molly and Beau came through the front door, saying something about having moved their cars so that their guests could park in the small gravel drive. Yasha showed up next, quickly followed by Veth and her husband Yeza. _Seems like they got a sitter for Luc,_ Caleb thought to himself. In quick succession, the rest of their guests joined the growing party in the living room until the only person missing from the group of people who had been at the barbecue was Ikithon.  
  
Caleb finished the eggs quickly, walking into the living area and sitting down between Beauregard and Yussa. He was quickly engrossed in the conversation, playfully arguing with Allura and Essek over the finer points of the use of abjuration based home security systems. He was mid sentence explaining the details of his personalized _Permanent Alarm_ spell that he had used for the subject of a term paper a few years previously when the doorbell rang and the oven beeped at the same time. Beau nodded to Caleb and got up to go to the kitchen. Caleb went to the door and was greeted with the sight of Trent Ikithon on his doorstep.  
  
“Ah, Herr Widogast, my apologies for being late. Something came up at the University,” Ikithon said. Caleb nodded in assent and held the door open for his advisor. The two men rejoined the conversation to Allura, Essek, and Yussa all considering adding secondary or tertiary rooms to their offices at the academy.  
  
“ _Ja_ , I had considered it for a time, but with the way my office changes every other year I doubt I will implement any plans until I have finished my degree, assuming the University would like me to stay on,” Caleb said.  
  
Allura put her hand on his arm, “I’m sure the review board will decide to have you stay; what with the amount of praise I hear about your classes.”  
  
“Thank you, Doctor Vysoren,” Caleb said, touched at the older woman’s words.  
  
“Don’t give the man false hope, _Fräuline_ ,” Ikithon said snidely.  
  
“Dear, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Allura?” She said, smiling kindly at Caleb and staunchly ignoring Ikithon.  
  
Sensing the natural lull in conversation, Fjord cleared his throat before saying, “Er, Caleb, can I have another drink, if you wouldn’t mind?”  
  
“ _Ja_ , of course, Fjord,” Caleb said, nodding to the other academics. “You were drinking whiskey, correct?”  
  
“Yeah. Thankin’ you, Caleb,” Fjord said, turning back to talking with Caduceus and Jester after handing Caleb back his glass.  
  
Caleb walked into the kitchen and poured a healthy serving of whiskey for Fjord over the ice in the glass, sighing. The conversation was good enough, but something about Ikithon’s comment from earlier stuck with him. He turned to go back to the living room, but was confronted by the man himself. Despite only being two-ish inches taller than Caleb, Ikithon’s presence made him take up almost the entire room and made him feel cornered, even with the amount of space still surrounding them. Caleb tried to hold his ground, but felt the desire to step backwards and away from the smirking man creeping up his spine like so many spiders.  
  
“Doctor Ikithon,” he said, quietly, “I am happy to get you another drink, if you have run out?”  
  
“ _Herr_ Widogast,” Ikithon said, removing his hands from where they rested behind his back. “I daresay, you are quite the performer, are you not?”  
  
Puzzled, Caleb’s brows knit together, “P-performer?”  
  
“Yes indeed, _Schatz_ ,” Caleb’s blood ran cold at the out of place term of endearment. Ikithon continued, “I seem to have been erroneously connected to your phone line a few weeks ago while you were having quite the telling conversation with _Herr_ Tealeaf.”  
  
Caleb swallowed, trying not to betray his fear or drop the glass in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flash of purple skin. Ikithon’s autocratic look shifted from Caleb to where Molly stood at the refrigerator, looking over to the two humans questioningly.  
  
“Erm, am I interrupting something?” Molly asked, the harsh glare from Ikithon also making him step back subconsciously.  
  
“No, _darling_ , I am actually quite glad you decided to join us,” Ikithon said, spinning to face the tiefling and clapping his hands together.  
  
“Whats going on here?” Molly asked, closing the door to the refrigerator, turning to face where Ikithon and Caleb were standing, and crossing his arms.  
  
“Why don’t you enlighten him, _Herr_ Widogast?” Ikithon said, his grin slowly getting wider.  
  
“ _Ja_ , um. M-mollymauk,” Caleb started, trying to find the words. “D-doctor Ikithon has, ah, overheard... a c-conversation that you and I had over t-the telephone.”  
  
Molly’s eyebrows came together, the confusion showing on his face. He looked at Caleb, saying slowly, “You and I have lots of conversations, Caleb.”  
  
“Come now, _Herr_ Widogast, no need to be shy about your proclivity for pet names now. You need not bother hiding when it is just the three of us.”  
  
“Caleb?” Molly asked, his voice low and uncertain. His eyes widened and he looked between Caleb and Ikithon quickly.  
  
“ _Ja, Schatz,_ ” Caleb said, unable to raise his eyes from the floor. “He k-knows.”  
  
Molly’s face hardened and he strode across the kitchen in three steps, coming face to face with Ikithon. He shoved his face into the other man’s space, whispering, “If you do anything to hurt Caleb or the rest of my family, you will be on the receiving end of a tire iron.”  
  
Ikithon somehow grinned wider, towering over Molly with his presence and whispering back, “Ah, so your wives are in on it, eh, _Herr_ Tealeaf?”  
  
The tiefling stepped back, concern written across his features. Caleb watched, frozen, as Ikithon continued to back Molly into a corner of their kitchen, the taller tiefling still dwarfed by Ikithon’s imperious presence.  
  
“Considering the fact that I hold your livelihoods in this community on the proverbial chopping block, you should be nicer to me, Mollymauk,” Ikithon said. He turned back to Caleb, straightening his lapels before continuing, “You will be hearing from me. I don’t know what I want from you yet, but keep in mind that I know about your little secret. This confirmation was more than enough for now.”  
  
Ikithion swept out of the kitchen, walking into the living area where he apologized profusely at having to leave early. He wished his best to the people in the room that were not his colleagues before leaving, and just as quickly as he had left the kitchen, he was gone. When Caleb heard the front door close, he looked over to Molly, a pained and terrified look on his face. The tiefling pushed off from his position leaning against the table and walked over to Caleb, wrapping the shorter man in a hug and tucking his head under his chin.  
  
“What do we do, _Schatz_?” Caleb said, voice barely above a whisper, his head tucked in close to Molly’s chest, the tiefling stroking his auburn hair softly.  
  
“I don’t know, darling. I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! There had to be conflict some time, right? I so so so so so appreciate every kudos and comment that I get! <3
> 
> This was supposed to be two chapters, but I said what I wanted to say and there was like 900 words, so I went ahead and combined these two.


	3. I Only Have Eyes for You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Just a little warning here. This chapter involves some medical language concerning Ikithon and his experiments. The subject of the experiments is canon, but my description might be a little detailed for some people! It's not super overt, but I just want people to be safe :) The description starts after the word "Melora" and goes to the end.
> 
> Edit on 11/9: Updated Astrid's name to match canon

Caleb started when he heard a knock at his door. It had been weeks since Ikithon had confronted him in his kitchen and there had been nothing out of the ordinary from him other than the usual sanctimonious tone he took when speaking to Caleb. Caleb, however, had been on edge for those weeks. His nerves were like the end of a frayed rope and he had almost stopped sleeping all together. Whenever Molly tried to comfort him, Caleb would shy away from his partner or snap at him, curling in on himself like how he had reacted when they first met. Everything Jester did that was usually cute was annoying and everything that Beau did that was par for the course for her was hyper aggressive and Caleb had snapped at them both more than once. He always rushed to apologize after, but he was going to lose the three most important people in his life if something didn’t get done about this situation.  
  
The knocking at the door was more urgent now, accompanied by a strong southern accent, “Caleb! Caleb, open up! ‘Tika’s got something!”  
  
Caleb stared at the door, not processing the words he was hearing. He shook his head, trying to pull himself out of the spiral he’d been going down as the knocking became banging. He dimly registered Beau’s voice saying, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it. You go help him,” before he felt the couch next to him sag with the weight of another being. He looked over, eyes still glassy, into the brilliant red eyes that he could stare into for the rest of his life.  
  
“Baby?” Molly said, gently resting his hand on Caleb’s cheek. Caleb tried to flinch away from the touch, but Molly followed, placing his hands on Caleb’s shoulders and pulling him in for a kiss on the forehead. “Come on, there’s time for that later. Fjord and Avantika are here.”  
  
Caleb shook his head once more, finally ridding himself of the recently everpresent brain fog. He looked up at where Fjord and Avantika stood with excited smiles on their faces. He noted that they were standing further apart and Avantika seemed more rigid than they had been last time Caleb had seen them together.  
  
“ _Hallo_ ,” Caleb said, lamely. He’d almost forgotten that after the academics left Caleb’s house that evening, they had held all of their friends back and told them their secret. The rest of their small friend group had looked at the four duplex residents and told them that they knew; that none of them were nearly as covert as they thought they were. Yasha had admitted to being sapphic and Caleb did not miss the look that had passed between Caduceus and Fjord.  
  
“Caleb!” Fjord said excitedly. “‘Tika told me that she found something on-”  
  
“I think that I can tell Caleb what I found myself, thank you, _Fjord_ ,” Avantika interrupted Fjord. He took a step back sheepishly, putting his hand on the back of his head and flushing.  
  
“Sorry,” he said. “‘Course you can.”  
  
“Anyway. As Fjord was saying, today I took notes for Trent in a meeting with the Martinet. They were talking about the Evocation Fast Track program and something rubbed me the wrong way. Trent was talking about two of his prized students and how they’d be spending the winter break on campus so that they could continue their studies with him. That’s not how that worked last year,” Avantika said. “It is a longshot, but it could be something. I can get you into his office this weekend.”  
  
Caleb nodded, taking Molly’s hand in his. “Thank you, Avantika. I believe that we should bring the other three with us. Veth would very likely try to kill me if she knew we were breaking and entering without her.”  
  
Veth had a habit of taking Luc’s lockpicking kit that he had gotten for Christmas from Caleb a few years ago and breaking into Caleb’s office to retrieve research notes. She always replaced them when she was done, which he was fine with, but Caleb was sure that she would jump at the chance to break into Ikithon’s office with them. He made a mental note to call her after Fjord and Avantika left.  
  
“He shouldn’t be in his office this weekend. He said something about going to his mountain house when he left work today,” Avantika continued, rolling her eyes. “I will meet you here on Saturday at 8. Please be ready.”  
  
“ _Ja_ , well, you know me,” Caleb said. “Veth and I will be ready, 8 pm, on the dot.”  
  
Avantika nodded and turned on her heel, gesturing to Fjord to follow her as she walked out the door. Fjord waved quickly to Caleb, Molly, and Beau and ran after her, making a face as he shut the door behind him.  
  
Beau locked the door and turned back to where Caleb and Molly sat, raising an eyebrow at Caleb, “You’re seriously going to leave me here?”  
  
“Well, Beauregard,” Caleb started, “you and I both know very well that I cannot tell you what to do--”  
  
“Damn straight.”  
  
“Thus, I assume you will be coming with us,” he finished.  
  
“Where are we going?” Jester’s voice rang out from the basement door.  
  
“Avantika thinks she’s found something on Ikithon, darling,” Molly called over, patting Caleb’s cheek affectionately before getting up and walking over to Jester. “If you two are going, we’re going too.”  
  
“Yeah!” Jester cheered, grabbing Molly’s hand and grinning at the other tiefling before they both turned back to Caleb and said in unison, “Let's cause a little chaos!”

***  
  
Caleb had called Veth to tell her about the plan, but was quickly overrun with her talk of her detailed plans on how to break into Ikithon’s office, despite Caleb’s insistence that they had a key and that if there was an _Alarm_ spell, he would be able to dispel it easily. She finally relented, agreeing to meet him and the rest of their group of friends at the duplex. Caleb sighed as he looked out the window of his and Molly’s bedroom, waiting for the inevitable ringing in his head that let him know that Veth had invited herself in rather than knocking.  
  
“Caleb?” Molly’s voice rang up from down the stairs. “Are you up there, love?”  
  
“ _Ja_ , I am in the bedroom,” Caleb called back over his shoulder. He heard the telltale sound of work boots and creaking stairs and turned to meet Molly. The tiefling’s face lit up when he saw Caleb, the human’s auburn hair tied back in a neat plait behind him and his sweater matching his trousers for the first time in a while.  
  
“You look quite fetching, darling,” Molly drawled, stepping up to Caleb and brushing an imaginary piece of lint off of his shoulder.  
  
“Mollymauk, I am wearing what I always wear,” Caleb replied, a smile coming to his lips as he looked into his partner’s pupiless red eyes. The tiefling bent down and placed a chaste kiss against his lips, causing Caleb’s eyes to flutter shut as he returned the kiss. He moved his hands to Molly’s waist as Molly’s hands crept up to his face to cup his jaw gently, still smiling as Molly’s mouth wandered to plant kisses all over Caleb’s face. Caleb chuckled, nuzzling into Molly’s neck.  
  
“ _Liebling_ ,” he said through his growing laughter, reaching up to cup Molly’s cheek in his hand, “did you want something?”  
  
Molly turned his head to kiss Caleb’s palm. “I want _you_ ,” he said, pressing his forehead gently to Calebs, “but I know we probably have about 20 minutes until our friends get here.”  
  
“Yes, it’s-” Caleb said, his thought interrupted by a distinct alarm ringing in the back of his head. “Ah, and there is Veth, breaking in instead of knocking, like usual.”  
  
The tiefling sighed and pressed his lips to Caleb’s forehead, murmuring, “Can we just stay here and let the others handle it?”  
  
“No,” Caleb sighed, “I feel responsible.”  
  
“Listen,” Molly said, putting his hands on either side of Caleb’s face and looking into his eyes, “you picked up the phone to answer my call that day and the operator got the wires crossed. Beau and Jester don’t blame you for what happened. _I_ don’t blame you.”  
  
Caleb turned his head to kiss Molly’s palm. “Thank you, _Schatz_.”  
  
“However much I want to stay home and have you to make me forget my own name, I think you’re right,” Molly said, pulling away from Caleb and walking towards the dresser.  
  
“ _Ja? Was-_ What do you mean?”  
  
Molly held up a black short sleeved button up shirt to himself before tossing it back into the drawer, not bothering to fold it. “I think that you being proactive in hopefully exposing this bastard for something will help you forgive yourself, even though you don’t need to.”  
  
Caleb thought for a moment, mulling over what Molly had said to him. His partner had the strange ability to say things that held some weight in the most cavalier way possible. He watched Molly hold up shirt after shirt to himself, ultimately picking up the short sleeved black button up again and nodding happily this time. He slipped his white work T-shirt off, shrugging into the black shirt. Caleb sighed as he watched the planes of muscle on Molly’s shoulders become more pronounced as Molly raised his arms to take off the shirt. He buttoned the bottom three buttons of the shirt, leaving his chest mostly exposed. Molly turned around and put his hands on his hips, smirking at Caleb when Caleb licked his lips subconsciously.  
  
“When we get home,” Caleb said, striding over to Molly with a few quick steps and wrapping his arms around the tiefling’s waist, “I am going to absolutely ruin you.”  
  
Molly whooped, planting a messy kiss on Caleb’s lips, only to twist out of Caleb’s arms and run out the door calling, “Veth! I know you’re here! Beau, what are you doing, why aren’t you wearing black?”  
  
Smiling as he looked around the disheveled room, Caleb considered tidying up, ultimately deciding against it. He could do that later, Fjord and Avantika were likely to be there soon. He walked downstairs to Beau and Molly arguing over Beau wearing an orange T-shirt, tweed trousers, and a pair of suspenders. Jester came racing up the stairs of the basement to join the conversation, dragging Veth behind her. The other tiefling was also wearing black, clad in a short jumper with small blue birds embroidered onto it.  
  
“I’m just saying, you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb,” Molly said, circling Beau with a mock-predatory look.  
  
“Dude, you are literally purple,” Beau shot back, jamming a golf cap that matched her trousers onto her head.  
  
“Yeah, and I’m blue, but I can still wear something to be sneaky in!” Jester said, staunchly ignoring the fact that the halfling standing right beside her was wearing a bright yellow dress. Beau looked down at Veth and opened her mouth indignantly.  
  
“Veth is wearing yellow! Why am I the one getting raked over the coals here?”  
  
“Because it’s fun to torment you!” Jester and Molly said in unison, one on each side of Beau. She groaned, reaching out to grab Jester around the waist. Jester tried to dodge, but wasn’t fast enough, getting scooped up in Beau’s arms as Beau planted kisses all over Jester’s face and neck. The tiefling squealed, her laughter infectious as Caleb, Molly, and Veth all dissolved into laughter with them.  
  
The knock at the door only quieted the group marginally and they continued to jeer back and forth as Caleb peeled off to answer the door. Looking through the window, he saw green skin and a pointed ear and opened the door, a question for Avantika on his lips. What he saw instead was a frizz of red hair leaning against a black truck in the gravel driveway and Fjord standing in front of him, his fingers entwined with Caduceus' beside him. Fjord quickly released Caduceus’ hand and stuck his hand out to greet Caleb.  
  
“Hey, Cay, how’s it goin’. Cad and I, uh, I mean, uh, WE rode over with-- with Yasha,” Fjord said, the tips of his ears and his cheeks turning a dark forest green. Caleb glanced past them again to see Yasha wave happily from the cab of her truck, Avantika still sulking against the wheel well. He turned back inside to where the group was now ribbing on Molly for having his shirt half open.  
  
“I’m just saying: it’s impractical,” Beau said, tugging the shoulder of Molly’s shirt off of him. Molly looked at her in mock horror, pulling the shirt back onto his shoulder and recovering his sunburst tattoo.  
  
“Who are you even trying to look good for?” Veth said, poking Molly in the side. He jumped and looked down at her, a smirk taking over his features.  
  
“Caleb,” He said simply, bending at the hips to shove his face into her space, the smirk on his lips growing slowly wider.  
  
“Gross, oh _gross_! You are _filthy_!” Veth shouted at him, jerking back from his face.  
  
“Hey, you made the connection there, not me.” Molly said, standing back up and swishing his tail nonchalantly. He looked up at where Caleb stood, barely containing another bout of laughter at his friends’ antics.  
  
“We need to get going,” Caleb said, a genuine smile coming to his features for the first time in he didn’t know how long. Everyone seemed so at ease, unlike how the dynamic of the eight friends had been over the past two months. Jester had suggested that they have more parties, but never brought up inviting the academics again. Oftentimes the ‘parties’ that they threw turned into everyone sitting in the living room drinking as static laden music drifted out of the radio; the light filtering through the lace curtains slowly turning to a dull gray around the group.  
  
Getting the group of people inside the house out to the two trucks turned out to be much like what Caleb would have imagined that herding cats would be like. Once they had finally packed everyone into the two trucks, opting to leave Caleb’s car behind as it would be too familiar, Caleb leaned his head back against the front seat of Molly’s vehicle. The bright purple truck had been a gift for Molly’s birthday three years ago; a joint present between the other three residents of the house. He adored the oddly shaped thing, taking excellent care of it and hand washing it at least once a week. Caleb would never admit to it, but he liked watching from the window of his and Molly’s guest room when Molly washed the truck without a shirt on. The ride to the school was uneventful, the traffic at this time of night practically non-existent in the non-greek parts of the sleepy college town.  
  
Before the purple truck had come to a proper stop, Veth was out the door and up the stairs to the entrance to the Transmutation building’s front door. Before Avantika or Caleb could pull out their keys, Veth had the door open and was gesturing wildly at the rest of the crew to follow her. Caleb chucked at how driven Veth could get when a subject interested her, it was one of his favorite things about his friend and research partner.  
  
One by one they all slipped through the door and made their way to the office of Trent Ikithon, Caleb and Avantika leading the way. This time, when Veth lunged for the door, Avantika was ready. She shoved the key in and turned it forcefully, pushing the door open in one smooth movement, causing Veth to almost stumble across the threshold as Caleb half whispered, “Wait!”  
  
Everyone turned to look at him at once, some with raised eyebrows, others with furrowed ones. Caleb silently fished a spool of thread out of his pocket and wiggled it at Veth, who nodded and slunk back into the shadows. Caleb nodded to her once in thanks and stuffed the thread back into his pocket. He moved his hands briskly in an arcane gesture and muttered a few words under his breath, carefully casting _Dispel Magic_ where he knew an _Alarm_ spell would be. Even though he was confident that the defenses of the office were now disabled, Caleb hesitated a moment before stepping over the threshold. He wasn’t sure what stopped him, but he was brought out of his reverie by Avantika’s shoulder connecting with his.  
  
She turned back to him and looked him up and down with an unreadable expression before flipping her hair over her shoulder and heading towards Ikithon’s desk.  
  
“ _Désolée, Monsieur Caleb._ ”  
  
Caleb raised an eyebrow and stepped into the room, turning to look at his friends behind him. Fjord walked past him and mouthed “Sorry” to him, grimacing as he did so. Molly was next, whispering quietly to Caleb, “Bad breakup?”  
  
“ _Ja_ , apparently.”  
  
Caleb looked over to where Fjord and now Veth were crowded around a filing cabinet. They seemed to be arguing about something before Veth cried out, “Aha! I found something!”  
  
“Veth, just because it’s labeled ‘Evocation’ doesn’t mean it's anything near what we’re looking for,” Fjord said, plucking the folder out of her hand. He opened it up and leafed through it casually, skimming for information. Caleb turned around to look through a separate filing cabinet, seemingly going through papers on the state of the Transmutation budget and how most of the post grads would be getting pay cuts in the next year. _Scheiße, excellent._  
  
“Oh my-- _Melora_ ,” Caleb heard Fjord’s voice say behind him, followed by retching. He spun around to see Fjord bent over the wastebasket that sat next to Ikithon’s desk, the contents of the file he had been looking at scattered around his feet. Jester and Caduceus had rushed to Fjord’s side and were easing him into a sitting position on the floor. Caleb bent to pick up the piece of paper on the ground that had a picture attached.  
  
As Caleb read over the piece of paper in front of him he became more and more horrified as the actuality of what the Evocation Fast Track program really was washed over him. The paper he held in his hand contained the information about a young girl, hardley a sophomore in high school by the looks of her. She was named Astrid Beck and she apparently showed great aptitude for whatever type of perverted magic Ikithon was having them perform. There were other pictures in the file, pictures of some form of green crystal or glass called Residuum suspended in an IV bottle next to Astrid, again. She looked at the camera with determination in her features, the arm with the needle in it stiff and tense. Beside her, in another chair, there was a boy of the same age as Astrid with dark skin and a shaved head. He had the same resolute look on his face, hooked up to his own IV bottle with Residuum in it.  
  
Sorting through the rest of the contents of the file yielded little else than the boy’s name: Eodwulf Kraft. Caleb put his head in his hands, leaving the folder on the floor. After his first semester at the academy as an undergrad, Ikithon had told Caleb that he saw great promise in him. The older mage had gifted him a large hunk of green crystal telling him that if he ever wanted to enhance his magical prowess, Caleb need only speak with him, tapping the crystal knowingly. Caleb had never felt the need to have that conversation, but he wondered what would have happened if he had. Would he have been in the same position as these children, sitting in a chair in a cold medical lab, Residuum infused _something_ pumping into his veins?  
  
When he looked up, Fjord was slowly standing with the help of Caduceus and Molly and Beau were looking at Caleb quizzically. Caleb opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again quickly, not entirely sure that he could get the words out without vomiting himself. He took a deep breath and tried again, spitting out between gritted teeth: “Children. He’s experimenting on _children_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I considered making this way darker, but canon is already pretty fucked up. As always, thank you for your comments and kudos! How fitting that I post this chapter the week of 110, eh?


	4. One Way or Another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I updated the chapter count again. This fic didn't feel right having _hur hur hur_ included in it in the end, so they will be in separate chapters in a series! And everything that I write in 50s duplex universe in the future will be included there as well. Thank you for reading!

_Doctor Ikithon,_

_Please do the Widogast family the honor of joining us at 9 Headlamp Way at 7 P.M. on the 12th of July for drinks and hor d'oeuvres. Please R.S.V.P. by July 5th with the enclosed envelope or by phone at 454-9286._

_Best,_

_Caleb Widogast_

Caleb read over the note again and again before finally stuffing it into an envelope and addressing it to his mentor. He still had a bad taste in his mouth from reading over the files of those two children. How someone could do something like experiment on children was beyond Caleb, and that he was grateful for. Looking back over his time spent studying under Trent Ikithon, he could clearly see how the man was trying to groom him into lacking the same empathy. Every assignment that he graded and had a question about, Trent told him to err on the side of being too harsh, rather than too lenient. Every time Caleb mentioned one of the groups in his classes having problems with cooperation, Trent told him to keep any helpful advice to himself, one of the students would eventually assert dominance and the others were simply weak minded.

How he hadn’t seen the obvious cruelty in Trent’s teaching was a mystery to Caleb. Even when he was an undergraduate student himself, Trent had told him that he was better than the other students, that he was bound for greatness. Caleb swallowed, trying to banish those thoughts from his mind. How differently he might have turned out if he had not met Mollymauk. The tiefling’s outlook on life was infectious, even prompting Avantika and Essek, two elves who were normally very subdued and introverted, to look outward and try, just for a moment, to make the world a better place.

“Darling?” Molly’s voice cut through Caleb’s reverie, “What are you working on?”

Caleb quickly stuck a stamp on the envelope and pushed back from his desk. He stood and turned to where Molly’s head was visible through the door. “I am just addressing this note to Doctor Ikithon, inviting him to dinner, as we discussed.”

Molly made a face, but his expression softened when Caleb walked over to him and placed a hand on his cheek. The tiefling leaned into Caleb’s touch, sighing as the human’s thumb brushed over the feather tattoo on his cheekbone.

“Do we have to do this? Can’t Fjord taking the evidence to Commissioner Bryce be enough?” Molly asked.

“I am afraid not, _Schatz_ ,” Caleb said. “I am still very worried that Trent will tell Ludinus or Mayor Dwendal about our secret.”

“And blackmail is going to help?” Molly asked. “I know you know him better than I do, but I feel like someone who tortures children and speaks to nonhumans like they’re dogs wouldn’t care.”

“He has a reputation to uphold,” Caleb replied. “If we can keep him silent while Bryce works out the necessary details to get him arrested and sent to prison, I would feel much better. I do not know how long it will take for Bryce to do that, but I do know that the system moves slowly.”

Molly nodded and stepped fully into the room. “When’s the big day?” he asked.

“Next Thursday,” Caleb said. “I’ve already sent the invites to the other faculty at the university that usually attend our gatherings, but I plan to tell them that Beau has fallen ill and there won’t be a gathering the day of.”

“Smart,” Molly said. “I’m not a huge fan of him being in our house again, but if you think this is the best way, I trust you.”

Caleb smiled and held out his arms. Molly eagerly accepted the hug, letting Caleb tuck his head under Molly’s chin. They stood there for a moment before Caleb broke the hug and gestured towards the stairs.

“I’m going to go put this letter in the mailbox,” Caleb said. Molly nodded, letting Caleb slip out of his arms, holding onto Caleb’s hand for a brief moment before letting Caleb go to the mailbox. Caleb shoved the letter in with little ceremony, slamming the door on the mailbox in frustration. He hated this. All he was doing was trying to be nice to his coworkers and other professors in his field and it had earned him so much hassle. He was glad it was nearly over.

***

The night of the meeting with Trent came and Caleb was a wreck. His anxiety was at an all time high as he paced back and forth in front of the kitchen, as Molly prepared dinner. They had no intention of serving food or drink to Ikithon as they interrogated him, but Molly suggested that Caleb eat something, telling him that it would settle his stomach. Caleb had nodded and walked into the kitchen, staring aimlessly at the fridge.

Molly recognized Caleb’s non-committal attitude towards food as a common side effect of his anxiety and offered to make him something, shooing Caleb out of the kitchen as soon as he had entered. So here Caleb was, thirty minutes from confronting the most dangerous person in his life, with his partner preparing him a sandwich like it was nothing on the other side of the wall.

“Caleb, you’re going to wear a hole in the carpet,” Beau said as she came up the stairs from the basement, an apple in her hand and Jester hot on her heels.

“ _Ja_ , well, better than a hole in the wall,” Caleb muttered. As Beau passed him, Jester put a hand on his shoulder, stopping his pacing.

“It will be ok, Caleb,” she said, her eyes big. “I’m sure that Fjord will get Commissioner Bryce to listen and Icky-thong will be arrested.”

Caleb sighed, looking up to meet Jester’s eyes. She meant well, but a few nice words wouldn’t assuage his worry. He placed a friendly hand on her shoulder and squeezed, letting her know that it was appreciated before following Beau into the kitchen. Caleb was never sure how Molly did it, but on the kitchen table sat a towering plate of sandwiches, almost looking like they came out of a magazine.

“Dinner is served, family of mine,” he said, dropping into a chair next to where Caleb sat. His tail twined around Caleb’s leg comfortably, the pressure a welcome distraction from the caustic thoughts gnawing at the back of Caleb’s mind. They mostly ate in silence, Jester trying to start conversations a few times, but nothing ended up sticking. Molly quietly covered the tray after everyone had indicated that they were finished, placing it in the fridge. He always made too much food when he was nervous, Caleb remembered. Ah, well, they had lunch for tomorrow at least. Assuming tonight went well.

He shook his head quickly, pushing that thought from his head. They would be fine. He knew that his brain was throwing the worst of the worst case scenarios at him to prepare him for a less bad scenario. Logically, the worst thing that would happen would be that Trent left the Widogast-Tealeaf household and went straight to Mayor Dwendal. No one was going to try to kill each other, this wasn’t some fantastical adventure like _Lord of the Rings_ where regular people who got into fights killed each other. 

Banishing all thoughts of having to move across the country to get away from the law banning his relationship, Caleb sat and called Frumpkin over to him. The bengal cat hopped up into his lap, meowing contentedly. Caleb buried his hands in the cat’s warm fur, letting the rhythmic purring comfort him. He felt the couch sag as Molly sat down next to him, wrapping his arms around the human and pulling him close to his chest.

They only had to wait two minutes before the doorbell rang, precisely at 7 PM, as Caleb predicted. He got up, shooing Frumpkin into the basement and walking over to the door. Looking through the peephole, he saw Dr. Trent Ikithon standing on his stoop, his age spotted visage looking over the door haughtily.

“Ah, Dr. Ikithon, please come in,” Caleb said, opening the door. Ikithon didn’t wait for a second invitation, sweeping into the room with a flourish of his jacket. Caleb felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and he looked over to where Molly sat, his red eyes narrowed and mouth in a firm line.

“You know, Caleb, I was surprised that you invited me over again,” Ikithon said with a sneer. “Considering how your last gathering didn’t pan out the way that you wanted it to.”

“ _Ja_ , well I believe in turning over a new leaf,” Caleb said wryly, locking the door behind Ikithon. “Just a small discussion between friends, eh?”

“Discussion? Whatever do you-” Ikithon started, the sneer never leaving his lips.

“Fucking can it, liver spots,” Molly said, cutting him off and standing up from the couch to walk over to Ikithon and get in his face. “You come in here and threaten my family and you’re going to act all cordial now? We know about your experiments with the kids.”

Caleb watched Ikithon’s features carefully, glancing sidelong at Beau. She nodded. They knew that their best bet was to let Molly do the confronting while they looked on. Caleb didn’t think he could have even gotten the words out of his mouth without having a panic attack and Beau wanted to make sure that she was calm enough to watch Ikithon’s reactions to what Molly said.

“Astrid Beck and Eodwulf Kraft, you disgusting worm? I read in the paper yesterday that they’ve been missing for _two months!_ I don’t want to know what you did to them or where they are, but I know you’re responsible. Why should I not walk out this door, get in my truck, and hand over everything that I know to the police?” Molly said, his voice staying remarkably even for how angry Caleb knew he was.

“Mr. Tealeaf, I assure you that-” Ikithon began, this time being cut off by Jester.

“We have pictures,” she said simply, pulling a crinkled polaroid from her pocket and throwing it onto the table. “I don’t want to know why you did it either, but you are going to stop.”

Ikithon’s already pallid skin turned a somehow more sickly color of yellow as he looked down at the picture of Astrid staring up at him resolutely from the coffee table. “Where did you get this?” he hissed. Beau looked at Caleb. This was all the confirmation either of them needed.

“Doesn’t matter,” Molly said. “Here’s my demands: you forget that phone call that you heard and you turn yourself or whoever kidnapped those kids into Bryce down at the precinct. You don’t want to be reported. You can keep it quiet and blame someone else down the line. I don’t care what you do, but I want you away from my family and away from those children.”

“Now, Dr. Ikithon, I believe that it would be best if you left,” Caleb said, willing his voice not to shake. “I had a nice evening planned with my wife and I’m sure you would hate to intrude.”

Ikithon seemed to be at war with himself for a moment before standing suddenly, coming eye to eye with Molly. The tiefling stared back at him resolutely, this time refusing to back down.

“Fine. Pardon me, _Herr_ Tealeaf,” Ikithon spat. Molly grinned at him, sweeping aside gracefully and gesturing towards the entryway. Beau got up from her chair and opened the door, glaring at Ikithon as he walked out. As soon as he was over the threshold, Beau slammed the door closed and locked it. Caleb took a moment to relish the click of the lock, the sound marking the end to weeks of anxiety. He was about to turn around and congratulate his friends and partner on a job well done, but found himself being swept up in Molly’s arms and attacked with kisses.

“Gods, Caleb, I have been wanting to tell that man off since the moment I met him and he called me stupid. Doesn’t matter if I am or not, he’s a joke and deserves to be told as much,” Molly said between kisses. Caleb laughed, the light presses of Molly’s lips tickling his face.

“ _Schatz_ , watching you tell him off was... invigorating,” Caleb said. “You are quite attractive when you’re yelling at my horrible advisor.”

“I hope you find me invigorating and attractive all the time, husband mine,” Molly said, pressing his forehead to Caleb’s.

“We’re right here, assholes,” Beau said. Caleb and Molly both turned to look at where she sat on the couch with Jester in her lap.

“Darling,” Molly whispered in Caleb’s ear. “Let’s go upstairs. Fjord will call when he’s done at the precinct.”

“Beau, they have a point,” Jester said, raising her eyebrows at Beau. Beau raised hers back, blinking for a moment before nudging Jester off of her and starting to creep towards the basement door.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, ok, it's late and I guess we’re gonna go, uh, watch some TV or whatever,” Beau said, her cheeks coloring.

“You can say sex, you know, Beau,” Molly called after them loudly. Beau swore but didn’t turn back to look at him, dragging Jester behind her down the stairs.

Molly turned back to Caleb and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Lets go to bed, darling. Let Fjord deal with that nastiness and give us an update in the morning.”

Caleb nodded and let himself be dragged up the stairs. They could turn out the lights later.

***

Fjord pushed open the door to the police station and strode confidently to the reception counter. He looked around while waiting for the officer on duty to be finished with their task and noticed two pictures on the wall that made his stomach turn. He had been a little worried about how well the information he was going to be giving to Commissioner Bryce would go over, Dr. Ikithon being a respected figure and all, but now he knew that they had him.

Astrid Beck and Eodwulf Kraft’s pictures stared out from the missing persons bulletin on the wall behind the receptionist’s desk at the police office. Fjord could barely stand to look at them anymore, so he busied himself by looking around the room at anything that might catch his eye. Two women seated in a corner glared at him when he looked over them, so Fjord decided that his shoes were the most interesting thing in the world.

Eventually Commissioner Bryce walked into the waiting area, escorting a young man with white hair. The two women got up and hugged him, the brunette shaking Bryce’s hand before leaving the station quickly. Bryce looked over to Fjord once the three people were gone and smiled, greeting him amicably.

“Evening, Fjord,” they said. “What brings you into the station so late? Reconsidering my job offer?”

“Unfortunately not, Bryce,” Fjord said, shifting his weight back and forth. “I think... I think I have some information on those two missing kids.”

Fjord hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the posters of Astrid and Eodwulf. Bryce’s eyes narrowed at him and they asked, “What do you think you have on them? They’ve been missing for two months and the trail’s all but gone cold.”

“ _Two months?_ Gods, Bryce, take this, find those fucking kids,” Fjord blanched. He shoved the folder of evidence into Bryce’s hands. They opened the file and flipped through it, their face growing more grim by the second.

“Mr. Stone,” they eventually said. “Where did you find this?”

“My girlfriend, er, ex-girlfriend... it’s... complicated... anyway, she heard Dr. Ikithon talking about something that sounded suspicious, so one day while she was filing something she found this. She doesn’t want to be attached so she gave it to me.”

Bryce nodded, narrowing their eyes again, but seeming to believe Fjord’s tale. “The legality of that is muddy, but you’re my friend, so I’ll overlook it for now, Fjord.”

Fjord nodded. Bryce seemed eager to get to work on the case so Fjord bid them farewell quickly, walking out of the police station and over to the nearest payphone to let Caleb know that everything was being taken care of. The two men breathed a collective sigh of relief, Caleb profusely thanking Fjord for being the one to turn in the evidence. Fjord made sure that Caleb knew it was no trouble, hanging up the phone and starting the walk home. He was worried about the kids, but he knew that they were in good hands with Commissioner Bryce.

***

The Zadash Journal Constitution

_Thursday, July 19th._

PROFESSOR ARRESTED

Late last night, the home of Doctor Trent Ikithon of the Solstryce Academy was raided in relation to the missing persons case of Astrid Beck and Eodwulf Kraft. Both teens were found unharmed and have been returned to their respective families. Beck and Kraft have been very helpful in the investigation into the larger illegal Residuum epidemic here Zadash and in the greater Wildemount area. Sources of the mineral have been linked to Tal’dorei and Issylra, but nothing concrete has been discovered as of yet. Doctor Ikithon seems to have been working under someone, but will not give up any information. The police will continue investigating this case and more information will be reported as it develops.

\- Calianna Gold, reporter, ZJC


End file.
